We're not really though. People's houses are destroyed along with all of their belongings, people are dieing, missing, loosing power, phone lines are down, roads are invisible, public transport is down- it's a bit of a mess here in Brisbane. I'm a lucky duck, thankfully, all nice and dry so far!
The most ridiculous things are happening. Today at work, we sold 300 and something loaves of white bread, as opposed to the usual 40ish. It's so weird to hear about all of the floods and destruction, when I barley saw a drop of water all day! Being up on high ground in the sun makes it seem like the news is a movie or something. But if I were to go on a 5 minute drive or so, I could see the full effects of it all (spending the day at work, I could only see pictures that other people had taken of this insane mass of water). I also saw a picture of South Bank which indicated that my university is now part aquarium.. so that should be interesting. I worry for the organ down stairs! Do organs work after they've been under water?
I hope everyone's doing alright, and that we can function normally in the near future. Come and visit me to stock up on bread and milk (like everyone else seems to be doing) tomorrow, as most places were breadless today. Do not fear, your bakery is here.
The Beards. They have beards. They sing only about beards. Their album covers feature divine beard sketches.
They are all about the beard, and they do it well. I think they may start some kind of beard revolution.
But seriously, how do they think up so much beard related material? It must be becoming difficult to write about beards by now.. they've released two albums! And they sold ridiculously well at Woodford!! I raise my glass to them, they've really got something going on here.
So I've recently(ish) returned from Woodford, and there are so so so so so many music related posts in my head that I am bursting to post. I have no idea where to start, so I'm just gonna postpone the starting thing to the near future. In the mean time, feel your soul explode with a bit of this.
The other night, while listening to The Shins, I took note of the above lyrics from the song 'Sleeping Lessons'. I've always liked this line, but this time it stirred much thought in my thought hungry brain.
Did you know that over 50% of the human population make a new years resolution? Yep, that's right. Over 50%. That statistic is so ridiculous it makes me wince, but somebody (on the news may I add) felt the need to share it. Anyway, last year I made a new years resolution that I had much difficulty defining. The first time I told somebody, they told me it sounded selfish, and although it kind of was, I didn't think I had worded it quite properly (an ongoing battle I have between my brain and my mouth). Since that first time, I attempted to explain it many ways, each explanation receiving an odd facial expression and head nod from the question asker/s of the conversation. I should have just gone with something simple and usual.
So, as I think I've almost hit the nail on the head when it comes to explaining it, my new years resolution of 2010 was to do things more for the reason that they felt right to me, as opposed to doing them because I felt I had to from society's ideas of me or other peoples opinion. The reason I made this resolution was because it seemed to me like my unhappiness was a direct result of the decisions I had been, or had been avoiding to, make. I figured out this was because I was making these decisions for the wrong reasons, and it was time to fix this. For an over thinker, I wasn't putting enough valuable thought into the things I was deciding to do, and it really wasn't working for me. Surprisingly.
When I made this new years resolution, I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I don't think I realised that I was about to attempt to change the way I made every single, little and big, decision. I was hunting happiness, in a way. First, this new way of thinking made me question the way I thought in general. Why I liked the things I liked, and if I actually really did like the things I liked. For instance, do I actually like cake, or do I just like it because it's accepted that cake is a nice thing? It turns out that I do really like cake.
But it also made me reconsider and change a lot of significant things, such as decisions I had made in 2009, and wa la, I was happier. It made me reconsider and change the way that I allowed people to treat me, and wa la, I was happier. It made me really think about how I deal with men, and wa la, that gave me a frick load to think about.
For I, as all have done, had made some very silly decisions when it comes to how I deal with the opposite sex. I was tip-toeing around when I should have been stomping on feet, and doing the opposite. It was getting me nowhere.
This change of thinking when it came to men, unfortunately, resulted in a very, very, very long stream of nothingness. I could sustain interest in one person for a week, tops. I'd meet somebody and think they were the best thing since sliced bread (and I am a very big fan of sliced bread), and then a short time later, I'd completely loose interest. But it was better I kept looking past these small infatuations, then get myself into another situation that wasn't going to bring me happiness or satisfaction. I was waiting for that effortless attraction. That's why the lyrics stood out to me, "Go without, til the need seeps in". That's what I was doing, in a sense; waiting for the need. And eventually, it did actually get me somewhere! I ended the year with somebody who's keep my interest for well over a week, and makes me so unbelievably happy. Wa la! Definitely worth it.
So not only did I manage to keep a new years resolution (I wonder how many out of the very significant statistic, 50% of the population, actually do that), but it actually made a massive impact on the way that I make decisions, and has resulted in notably high happiness levels. Even though I had much success with my new years resolution last year, I've decided not to make one this year. I'm happy with how things are going right now, so why change it? Instead I shall continue with last years decision of decision making and see if it continues working.
I've started walking a new (and ever so slightly quicker) way to work this past week, and one particular street has come to my attention on three occasions. The first, was on my way home after a MASSIVE storm. The storm was so massive, that I had to stay in the building an hour after my shift finished, waiting for umbrella appropriate weather. Of course, by the time most of it cleared, I didn't even need an umbrella. The walk was just beautiful! Everything was so different and wonderful. It reminded me of that feeling you get when you're pushing through something, and then it finally finishes. Like when someone stops tickling you, or you finish sneezing, or when you've had a really long, stressful day on your feet and you finally lay down to go to sleep; that feeling of relief and relaxation.
Have you ever noticed how people behave differently in the rain? They take more notice of their surroundings, because it all looks different. They're forced to stop and take a moment to breath. People are more chatty and excitable in storms. Strangers speak to each other, because they're sharing a common, out of the ordinary experience. Everyone's fascinated by lightning, and they watch it in awe. In a couple of houses I walked past, there were small groups of three or so people standing and sitting in their front doorways with a cup of tea or a cigarette, just silently looking at the after affects.
Anyway, the street. I walked down it like it was completely unfamiliar to me, it was just so beautiful. Because I was walking up hill, the water was flowing down the overflowing drains so fast, and it sounded like a real river. In contrast to the masses of still water gathering in people's driveways, it looked extraordinary. It took me so long to get home because I kept stopping to take photographs. They can't possibly be an accurate depiction though, without the scent, sound and movement of the water.
The photograph's are still inside my camera, so above is one of Nirrimi's, and below is Patrick Self's.
As I was drinking my tea this morning, something very unexpected happened. In the room next door, my brother was watching a music show (the kind where they play music videos of Rihanna singing about rude boys, etc.), and I heard something kick ass. Kieran and I nodded knowingly to each other, it was clear that what we were hearing was worth remembering. Stonefield.
Influenced by the rawness of the 60s and 70s, these guys have something really special. And this bit I didn't believe- one of the members is only 12 years old! The sisters are all between 12 and 20, and are Australian of course. They won the Triple J Unearthed High competition this year, and shiver me timbers did they deserve it. This is the sweet clip that goes with their awesomeness:
Last Sunday night, I was lucky enough to witness a wonderful concert. The Jezabels put on quite a show!! I wasn't too familiar with their music before the concert, I was accompanying my dear friend, who unfortunately got sick that day and couldn't come :( Of course, I was instead accompanied by another fantastic human being.
Not being a massive fan, I wasn't expecting amazingness. Don't get me wrong, I was definitely looking forward to a pleasant night of live Australian music (which has come to be, over the past couple of years, one of my most favourite, treasured things to exist), in the extremely hot but unquestionably charming venue, the zoo. I knew not what I was in for. This concert was devine.
At first, I was punched in the face by the powerful vocals of Miss Haley Mary. That woman has a voice box in her that could enchant the worst of Grinches of the music world. After the punch wounds began to heal, I started to notice the other talents that were casually sharing a stage with this voice. The drummer with the great shirt, who made rhythms so perfect for subtly dancing, that it seemed almost involuntary. The keys player and the guitarist, who sung sweet harmonies, while constantly filling the songs with perfectly placed chords. The four of them together had so much energy and momentum. Their enjoyment was contagious.
Not only were the band members extremely talented and passionate, but the music they were playing was sublime. It made me feel like I was in a quiet, homey coffee shop in a small cold town. I like being in quiet, homey coffee shops in small cold towns. It reminds me of road trips; driving through beautiful towns, thinking time, a break from normal life. There's a sense of serenity that comes with road trips, and somehow it was brought back to me through this music.
So if anyone ever says to you, "Hey, would you like to see The Jezabels?", I would recommend you answer them with a big fat "YES".
